"I’ve noticed that the shares of some companies have risen threefold," said Saleh Kamel, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).
He described the local stock market, known as the Tadawul, as a “rigged balloon”. He said people are investing their money without careful deliberation or concern for the consequences.
Sheikh Kamel told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that there has been an unjustified and illogical rise in the share prices of certain companies. He said that he fears people are going to lose all their savings, like they did during previous stock market crashes. This will affect the lives of many citizens and their families, he said.
Sheikh Kamel said citizens should be wary of the current price rises on the stock market and try to learn from previous financial disasters. He stressed that more campaigns should be launched to educate people about the pitfalls of investing in the stock market.
He called on the government to prevent banks from lending money to clients for speculating in the stock market. “When a recession takes place in the real estate market, dealers move fast to invest their savings in the local stock market. In doing so, they are moving towards a parasitic economy without any added value. This unjustifiably boosts the share prices of some joint stock companies. When the share bubble bursts all regrets are useless.”
